The Tale of a Great Detective
by Nietzchian
Summary: Furudo Erika, a classmate of Tomoe Mami, is tasked to deliver her the class assignments for the day when she goes missing. From there, the Great Detective's greatest mystery begins.
1. Chapter 1

OOC: The author does not matter. The work does.

This has always been a mantra of mine, so I don't intend to talk about my writing hiatus. The important thing is that I've decided to resume writing - and yes, for those of you who care, that means Emperor of Zero.

Still, this is another side-project I have been interested in some time. It's going to be much shorter than Emperor is, though possibly even darker, but it's something for when I feel like writing small stretches at a time.

Thank you for reading.

...

...

"Hey, hey, Suzuki, did you hear, did you hear? Take a look at today's fortune!"

"What, what is it?"

"Look what it says in your horoscope today! 'Love and romance will go very well.' Do you think-"

"Daisuke may confess to me today! Ohmygodohmygodohmygoooooddddddd! That would be just so, awesome, you know!"

In the city of Mitikihara, a gaggle of shrieking schoolgirls gathered around a magazine, reading their fortunes. Who would do well on the upcoming test, who would get a new boyfriend, what their parents would get them for their birthday. They prattled on and on without sense.

"Well. So what are you all looking at now?"

The girls turned to look at another classmate. She was short, and her blue twintails served to make her look even more childlike. A few of the girls murmured amongst themselves about the arrival of the visitor.

"Good morning, Erika!" One said. "How are you doing today?"

Erika did not even nod in acknowledgment of the greeting. Instead, her eyes fixated on the magazine.

"Like I said, what are you looking at?"

"It's just the latest magazine." Another piped up brightly. "I know it's totally different from those mystery books you always read, but hey, Erika, you want to know something good!"

"What?"

"Someone's going to confess to Suzuki today! It'll probably be Daisuke, too! Oh, I'm so jealous I'm so jealous, Suzuki! Isn't it going to be great, Erika-"

The girl stopped upon noticing the look on Erika's face. Erika was smiling. But instead of a smile grateful to hear of Suzuki's good fortune, it was a mocking, pitying smile, one which was currently doing a very bad job at holding back her laughter.

"Is something wrong, Erika?"

The tone of the girl's question had grown colder, but Erika seemed to take no notice. Finally, her smile cracked as she let out a peal of derisive laughter.

"BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! Really? Are you all a bunch of children? How could you believe as utterly simple and stupid as a horoscope?"

The girls glowered at Erika's laughter.

"How dare you!" One of them cried. "You shouldn't be mocking us, Erika! These fortunes are true!"

"Oh really, Sonoda?" Erika snickered. "Go ahead, then. I guess you looked at your fortune yesterday, right? So, what was it? Don't tell me you forgot!"

"I-I…Hold on a moment!" Sonoda said. She pulled out her phone and clicked a few buttons.

"There, you see? Read it for yourself!"

Erika took the phone and looked for yourself.

"_If you are vigilant, you will find something that you have been missing for a while._ And? How does that prove anything?"

"Well, the fact is that I lost one of my favorite lipsticks a long time ago! But later when I got home from school, Mom made me clean the bathroom because I came home late last Saturday. And while that totally sucked, I found the lipstick when I was cleaning up. If that fortune telling wasn't referring to me, then just what was it referring to?"

Sonoda nodded in triumph, but then she looked at Erika. Once again, that sardonic grin had appeared on her face.

"Couldn't that fortune have referred to that reporter yesterday?" She asked.

"What reporter?"

Erika gave a long, slow sigh and shook her head.

"Don't you ever read the news? And I mean the real news, not your stupid gossip. There was a company which had been suspected of illegally dumping chemicals in the nearby bay, but no one could prove a thing. But then a reporter went undercover and found real proof."

"Yeah?" Sonoda asked. "What's your point?"

"Of course I have to explain it in this detail." Erika shrugged. "That's the detective's job. But that reporter found something, right? I could not find my keys walking home yesterday, but after being vigilant, I found in another pocket. People find things all the time. What makes you so special?"

"Well, it fit with me!"

"Only because you interpreted it fit you. But what makes you so special, Sonoda? There's 12 horoscope signs, right? And there's more than 6 billion people in this world. So, are you telling me that one sign can tell me what 500 million people are going to do? God, you'd have to be an utter moron to be so silly to believe that!"

Sonoda spluttered at Erika's statement, but had nothing more to say. But while Erika nodded with self-righteous pride over her victory, she looked at the group of girls. None seemed particularly impressed with her logical deductions. On the contrary, they glowered at her.

"Geez, what did you come over here for, to ruin our fun?" One finally said. "You're such a child, Erika. No wonder your boyfriend dumped you."

For the first time during this conversation, Erika seemed taken aback.

"W-what did you say?"

"Hey, hey, did you hear?" Sonoda interjected. "I heard that one time when they were still dating, he walked back home, and Miss Detective here followed him all the way! Like, she was hiding behind lampposts, under cardboard boxes, and acting like some crazy stalker!"

"Oh, really? Well, she must not be that good a detective. Someone saw her doing that, after all."

"It-it wasn't like that!" Erika cried.

"Wasn't like that?" A girl said. "Then what _was _it like? So you did follow your boyfriend all the way home?"

"I…I-"

"Hey, what's the matter? You're the one who talks about the importance of the truth all the time! How you should always tell the truth, no matter what. So, what's the matter? Where's your truth now?"

Far from the confident girl who had lectured the girls about horoscopes, Erika visibly steamed as they giggled amongst one another. But then their homeroom teacher walked in.

"Alright, get to your seats."

With the teacher's words, Erika began to walk to her desk. But then she stopped right next to Suzuki.

"I'm sorry, Suzuki."

"Huh?"

The other girl looked up at Erika in confusion. Erika wasn't the sort to apologize for making a scene like that, and-

"Daisuke's already dating Noda."

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

Suzuki stared at the front. A gloomy, plain long-haired girl with thick glasses sat at the front, her nose buried in a book.

"The detective always tells the truth."

And with those words, Furudo Erika practically skipped straight to her desk.

…

…

The day droned on, with one lesson after another. When the lunch break came, Erika ate alone, her nose buried in her latest mystery novel. Finally, as the sun began to set, the last bell for the day rang. Erika packed her bag and prepared to leave.

"Miss Furudo!"

Her teacher abruptly called out to her. With a slight grumble, Erika made her way over to the front desk.

"Yes, teacher?"

"I have a favor I would like to ask of you, Furudo. I'm sure you know that Tomoe was absent today."

Erika looked over at an empty space. A desk was supposed to be there, but one of her classmates, Tomoe Mami, had not been there for a few days. Now that Erika thought about it, even she, the detective who knew more about everyone's private lives than the biggest gossips, did not know a whole lot about Tomoe. She seemed nice enough, but then again, hadn't she thought that once about her boyfriend? You never could tell what people really were like deep down.

"Is she sick, teacher?"

"Well, the problem is that she never called in sick if she was. I tried to call her house today, but no one picked up. I know you live close to her apartment, so could you stop by, make sure she's alright, and give her the assignments for today?"

Erika thought about it. It definitely was a pain. But then, she had plenty of time. She used to hang around the theater club, back before well….her boyfriend ended up cheating on her for that senior, but now she no longer participated in any club. And besides, as small as it was, it was a mystery. She had grown bored with how all detective stories seemed the same these days, but a city as prosperous as Mitikihara just did not have enough crime for an enterprising detective like herself. God, how she wished she had grown up in the past – perhaps the 1980s.

"Sure." She finally shrugged. "I'll take them. Could you give me her address?"

Shortly afterwards, Erika left the classroom, Tomoe's address and assignments in her bag. As she walked down the hall, she saw the same girls she had been arguing with this morning clustered together. They were the only people she had talked to all day today.

"Well, hello there, Miss Detective!"

"Suzuki." Erika coolly answered. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? Nothing from you, Miss Detective. I don't need you spoiling everything like you always do. But you're on your way to see Mami, right?"

"What about it?"

"She suits you." Suzuki smirked. "Even a loner like you is a complete social butterfly compared to Mami. I tried to be nice to her at the beginning of the year, invited her to the best clothing stores, the restaurants, but she always refuses. No matter what!"

"Well, she does live by herself." Another girl said. "She must be busy trying to take care of herself and going to school."

"I'm not inconsiderate! I'm not suggesting that she hangs out every day!" Suzuki snapped. "But once a week, maybe once every two weeks? I mean, Tomoe's loaded! A friend of mine told me that she went to her apartment once a long time ago, and said that it was a place fit for a rich family, much less one girl! She can surely afford to go out every now and then, but nooooo, she rejects me every. single. time! She probably thinks that she's too good for us, even though I know she doesn't have a boyfriend, just like Miss Detective here."

"Did you stop me just to gossip about Tomoe Mami?" Erika asked.

"No, not at all. I just meant to tell you to enjoy herself."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why don't you use that detective brain of yours?" Suzuki tapped a finger against her chin. "Mami has a lot of money, but she has no parents, and she seems to have no time to hang out with anyone. I heard that she was seen once roaming around late at night in some pretty sketchy places. And on top of that, she's got no boyfriend even though every guy in our year would love to date her and those cows of hers. Now, what conclusions do you draw from that, Miss Detective?"

Furudo just glowered, and Suzuki smirked.

"Hey, you just lost her boyfriend after all, Erika. Maybe stopping by Tomoe will be the best way to…blow off some steam."

The rest of the girls shrieked in delight, and Suzuki bent double laughing at her own joke. Even Erika blushed a tiny bit, but then she noticed something stuck in Suzuki's pocket.

"So, what's the letter?"

Suzuki's grin grew even wider, and with a proud flourish, she whipped the letter out.

"You're not such a great detective, you know. You boasted so much about how those horoscopes don't mean anything. Well, guess what! When I came back to my desk after your little rant, I found a letter inside! Someone wants to meet me, behind the gym at 5:30! It's a confession, it's from Daisuke, it has to be! And my fortune told me that 'love and romance will go very well today!'"

Suzuki shrieked in delight and danced around for a bit, waving the letter in her hand. But then Erika marched up to her and snatched it right out of her hands.

"H-hey, wait a moment, what are you doing!"

Suzuki reached to grab the letter back. Before she could make a move, Erika then gave it back to her.

"You are a total love-struck moron, Suzuki. This is from Tsuruta."

"What?"

"Tsuruta wrote this." Erika repeated. "It's his handwriting. And he's the kind of guy who would use a stupid phrase like 'I hope we can be happy together for all eternity.'"

"N-no!" One of the girls cried. "Tsuruta? He must be 300 pounds, and he smells like a wet dog rolled into a pigpen. It has to be Daisuke, Suzuki! And there's no way he's dating someone as plain and ugly as Noda, I'm telling you the truth!"

"The truth?"

A glint shone in Erika's eyes, and for once, the girls in front of her fell silent.

"I am a detective, ladies. And a detective is one who finds the truth. The whole truth, no matter what. No matter how insane the truth is, no matter how ridiculous or impossible it is, I, Furudo Erika, will be the one to discover it. And I will be the one to endure the truth! No matter how impossible it is, or how much it may hurt me.

You people don't know anything about what truth is. That's why you will not admit that it's Tsuruta waiting for you behind that gym, Suzuki. But go, get over there. It's nearly 5:30. We will see whose truth is true, and whose truth is false. Yours, where Daisuke is waiting for you. And mine, where Tsuruta is."

With a final huff, without waiting for a final remonstrance or some last insult by the girls, Erika set off to Tomoe Mami's apartment.

…

…

A half hour later, Erika arrived. She raised her knuckles to the door of Tomoe's apartment and knocked.

There was no response.

She did it again.

Still nothing.

A less determined student might have just left Tomoe's assignments behind the door and gone home, content to know that she had done her duty. But Erika didn't care at all about the assignments. The prospect of a mystery, as small as it was, was why she had consented to her teacher's request in the first place, and she was not going to let something like an unopened door stop her. Especially, she realized as she jiggled with the handle, an unlocked door.

As Erika let herself inside, she looked around. The light came on the minute she entered, and Suzuki was right for once. The apartment was as large as she had claimed. Yet while Erika had never been inside before, her instinct immediately told her the truth.

Tomoe Mami was not inside this apartment.

Still, a detective had to make absolutely sure. "First things first", Erika murmured to herself as she rummaged in her bag, before she pulled out…

A roll of duct tape.

It was possible, she reasoned, that someone, whether Tomoe or a mysterious person X, was hiding from her in this apartment and would try to slip out while she was distracted searching. But her detective novels had taught Erika the importance of the closed room puzzle. She tore off a strip of duct tape and stuck it on the door. If anyone tried to slip out, the strip would fall off, and Erika would know that someone had been hiding.

Confident in herself, she began her search. She would leave the living room for last; while it was the largest room and was filled with furniture, there was none of the sorts where a human being could hide.

As she went through room after room, she inwardly confirmed the facts within her head.

Tomoe Mami was not in the bathroom.

Tomoe Mami was not in her bedroom.

Tomoe Mami was not in the guest bedroom.

Tomoe Mami was not in the kitchen.

Tomoe Mami was not in the storage room.

Tomoe Mami was not in this apartment.

Perhaps there was the possibility of some secret passage, but Erika dismissed the thought instantly. There was no reason to deal with such an absurd possibility. Tomoe Mami was not here. Furthermore, there was absolutely no signs of a struggle. Tomoe certainly kept everything neat and tidy, though some dishes had been left in the sink. There was no blood, no violence whatsoever. If a crime had occurred, this was not the crime scene.

Just to make things sure, Erika headed back to the entrance and checked Tomoe Mami's shoes. Obviously, she didn't know how many pairs of shoes Tomoe actually owned. But even then, she noticed two things that were odd.

First, there seemed to be a pair of shoes missing in between two other pairs. This made it all the more likely that Tomoe had indeed left the apartment, never to return. Second, one of the pairs of shoes was squished. Judging from the shape of the squished shoe, it was made when someone had entered Tomoe Mami's apartment.

It could have just been Mami, of course. But Tomoe was clearly devoted to ensuring her apartment was clean and elegant. Would she really have just done something like that? Furthermore, the fact that the shoe had not reverted into its normal shape meant that the person who had done it had been inside very, very recently, likely less than 24 hours ago. Did someone enter after Mami had left the apartment for the last time? Sure, the shoe wasn't much evidence. But if Erika was correct, it did prove something. Tomoe Mami wasn't as alone as Suzuki thought she was.

"Simply by this shoe, this level of reasoning is possible for Furudo Erika. What do you think, everyone?"

Erika murmured her old catchphrase to herself, but she knew she was not done.

Was Suzuki correct, Erika mused? Had she left her apartment, plying the oldest of professions, before she met an unexpected grisly end? It was certainly possible. But only possible at this point, there was no way to tell for certain. How Erika wished that there was some way, some way to make absolutely sure of the truth. Of course, there never was, as her boyfriend had proven. He had whispered lovely words too, only to cheat on him with that theater senior.

Evidence. Evidence was all that mattered.

With those thoughts in mind, she began to search the living room for clues. It did not take long. There was plenty of chairs and sofas, but there was only one table, a glass triangular table which one was supposed to kneel by. A half-drunk cup of tea rested on the table. That was odd. Given how clean Tomoe's apartment was, Erika did not peg her to be the type to leave half-consumed cups and plates lying around.

Had someone come in here while she was drinking? Unlikely. There was no sign of a struggle, and while perhaps someone could have taken her by surprise, there was no way they could have with the living room by the entrance.

But what was more interesting was a notebook on the table. There were two books, stacked on top of each other. Erika quickly flipped through the book on the bottom, but it was of no real interest to her. It was a book about tea sets, which given the numerous tea sets in the apartment seemed normal enough. But the notebook on the top was highly interesting. It was filled with drawings, with a few notes here and there. Erika paused to look at the drawings on the last page. There were three girls, all wearing frilly dresses of some kind. Erika didn't recognize two of the girls, but the first girl on the page…

"That's Tomoe Mami."

She then looked at the few notes which had been scribbled on the page and checked their handwriting. Fortunately for Erika, Tomoe Mami had left a grocery list on the refrigerator. The presence of such a list was also a clue which indicated that Mami had not intended to leave this apartment for good, but the handwriting was more important. Erika compared the grocery list's handwriting with the notebook. They were not the same. At all. The notebook's writing was much more childish.

This notebook was crucial evidence. Suzuki had told Erika. Tomoe was a loner. Tomoe never invited friends. But someone (a girl most likely, given the drawings) had left a notebook that was not Tomoe's extremely recently, and had possibly been the one who had stepped on Tomoe's shoe while she entered. At minimum, this girl was likely the last one to see Tomoe Mami alive, and there was of course the possibility that she knew exactly what had happened to her. Given that it was on top of the tea set book as well as the fact that Mami's apartment was unlocked, it could even have been after Mami left this apartment for the last time.

Erika flipped through the notebook again for more evidence, and then stopped. Inside the cover, a name had been scribbled in the same childish handwriting of the rest of the notebook.

_Kaname Madoka._


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, forgive me. That wasn't very ladylike of me."

Shizuki Hitomi yawned once again, next to her two best friends. Miki Sayaka, a boisterous blue-haired girl, and Kaname Madoka. Madoka was never the most assertive of people, but she seemed to shrink deeper into her chair than ever before.

"What's the matter, Hitomi?" Sayaka asked. "Didn't get enough sleep?"

"Yes, I was at the hospital and had to deal with the police until late." Hitomi said.

"What? Did you get in trouble?"

"They said I was sleepwalking or something."

As Sayaka and Hitomi talked about the latter's mysterious ailment, Madoka said nothing. She knew what had happened to Hitomi. So did Sayaka. She had been the victim of a witch's kiss, which had nearly killed her as well as a few dozen more people. Madoka had managed to save their lives, but then had been attacked by the witch. The witch was ready to tear Madoka into pieces…

But then Sayaka had arrived, like a hero of justice. She had made the contract with Kyubey, to become a magical girl in exchange for healing the hand of the one she had loved. With that new power, she had saved Madoka, Hitomi, and everyone else. Yet she easily joked with Hitomi, pretending that she had no idea what had happened the whole time.

How did Sayaka do that easily? Madoka wondered. Sayaka was far braver and cooler than she could ever be. She had dashed in so gallantly to save the day. Just like Mami had done. Before-

No, she thought to herself, try not to think about Mami. Or that day. She had tried to save an entire hospital, had entered a land of desserts, and had easily fought and defeated the witch hiding inside.

Until…

She paused to look over a black haired girl who leaned by the wall. If Akemi Homura, another magical girl, hadn't been there, what would have happened to Sayaka and me? Sayaka did defeat the witch from yesterday, but that one which had killed Mami was strong. Were there other witches even stronger?

SHINK.

Madoka's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the classroom door opening. For a moment, she had thought her teacher, Miss Saotome, had returned. But instead, a short, blue haired girl entered, her school bag on her shoulder. She went to the front and gazed around the classroom until her eyes finally locked on Madoka.

"Eh?"

It reminded Madoka of when Homura had stared directly at her back when they first met, a gaze which seemed to know everything about her. The blue-haired stranger walked directly up to Madoka, a gentle smile on her face.

"Are you Kaname Madoka?" She asked.

"W-what? Y-yes, I-I am…" Madoka trailed off.

"A pleasure to meet you, Kaname Madoka. I am Furudo Erika."

"P-pleased to meet you as well." Madoka said. "Can I help you?"

"If you may." Furudo smiled. "There is something that I would like to talk to you about, Kaname. Could we go on the roof now?"

"T-the roof?" Madoka asked. "But class is going to start soon…"

"It's really important to me, Madoka, and the sooner I can talk about this, the better I'll feel. We won't be gone the whole class. Can you talk to me? Please?"

Erika's smile turned a bit sad. Madoka hesitated for a moment. If this girl wanted to talk to her on the roof, it likely would be a long talk. But Erika had promised that they would not be gone the whole class, and she had said please…

"O-okay."

"Thank you very much, Madoka! Oh, can I call you Madoka? Please?"

"Y-yes, sure."

Madoka nodded, and thus the two left the classroom. Sayaka, Hitomi, and Homura all watched them leave.

"That girl is a senior, right?" Sayaka said. "What do you suppose she wants with Madoka?"

"No idea." Hitomi shrugged.

…

…

It had been way too easy to find this girl, Erika thought to herself.

Given the drawings and the notebook's content, Kaname Madoka was almost certainly a girl around Tomoe Mami's age, which meant that it was highly likely that they went to the same school. Since Erika did not recognize the name at all, it also meant that she was in one of the younger years as well. A quick check of the school registry, complete with a school photograph, and all that needed to be done was to head to this girl's classroom.

"Um, Erika?" Madoka asked as they made their way up to the roof. "Could you tell me what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I think that we should wait until we get to the roof." Erika said. "Like I said, it's really important."

"O-okay…"

As the two walked, Erika did her best to analyze the girl besides her. If this really was a proper mystery like Erika was hoping for, then Tomoe Mami was likely not just gone, but dead. Murdered. Obviously by another human. Was it the girl in front of her?

She certainly didn't seem the type. Erika had done a little asking around about what Kaname Madoka was like, and the meek, passive girl with few friends that had been described certainly was here. Just a teensiest amount of pressure and a "please", and even though she clearly hadn't wanted to, here she was skipping class along with Erika.

But you never could know what people are really like on the inside, Erika reminded herself. Hadn't her former boyfriend taught that to her better than anyone else?

The two of them finally reached the roof. Madoka entered first, and Erika paused for a moment to fiddle with the door and check out the area. Good. There was no one around.

"So, Furudo, could you tell me what you needed to talk about?"

"Of course." Erika replied. She walked a bit away from Madoka and leaned by the roof fence.

"Let me get straight to the point, Kaname Madoka." Erika declared, her earlier politeness completely gone. "Where is Tomoe Mami?"

…

"Eh?"

Madoka could not believe her ears at first. So she asked Erika to repeat the question.

"Where is Tomoe Mami? She's a classmate of mine. She wasn't at school yesterday, nor was she here this morning. And she still hasn't called the teachers to let her know she's sick, which is quite unusual for a student who's as responsible as she is."

"I, I, I….."

Madoka stammered in a panic. What should she say? Should she lie? No, she shouldn't lie, but…

"I, I, I-I don't know where she is. Why…"

"You don't know _where_ she is?" The blue-haired girl asked. "Well, thank you very much, Kaname. If you didn't know who Tomoe Mami is, your first question should have been to ask that. But you didn't. So, you know who she is, don't you?"

"W-what?"

Madoka had barely said anything at all, but this girl had already figured that out? What did she know? Was she another magical girl? If she was, and with Sayaka not here, Madoka realized that she was in actual danger. B-but if she wasn't, and then she told the truth about Mami…

"I don't know where she is."

With a lack of options, Madoka clung to her old defense. Erika stared right back at her, her face clearly disbelieving. She then sighed and shrugged.

"Fine. Then when and where was the last time you saw her? I know it was very, very recently, so don't bother lying about that, okay?"

Madoka's eyes grew even wider. Just how much did she know? She looked around, at a tower where Mami had once stood watch over her the first time Homura confronted Sayaka and her on the roof. But Mami was gone. Sayaka and Homura were at class. And Kyubey…

She looked around for the white creature, but he was nowhere to be seen. That was a bit odd, Madoka realized. Kyubey had always been nearby, especially when there were few people around. Every time she had been in the slightest distress, he had shown up, asking to make a contract to become a magical girl. Sure, he wasn't there yesterday in the warehouse, but that was because he had turned Sayaka into a magical girl. So where was he now?

"Are you going to answer or not?"

Her thoughts were broken by Erika's words. What to say, what to say, what to say…

"I-I don't remember." She stammered out again. "I-I don't know where she is."

She could have just admitted that she had seen Mami at the hospital, she then thought. But she didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to forget everything that had happened on that day, of the grief seed, of Mami fighting and seemingly defeating the witch, until…

A tear dripped down Madoka's cheek, but Erika seemed to take no notice. Instead she reached into her own schoolbag.

"I really didn't want to have to bring this out, but if you're going to continue to be stubborn about this, I might as well show you this."

And with those words, Erika pulled out Madoka's notebook. Madoka couldn't help but give a small squeal of fright, one which Erika visibly picked up on.

"So you do recognize this, don't you? It's yours. I found it in Mami's apartment. And it was left there extremely recently."

W-when? Madoka wondered. She had left that there just yesterday. When did this girl show up in Mami's apartment?

"Hey, don't tell me…" Erika sked, a slow, cruel smile forming on her face.

"Someone was in Tomoe Mami's apartment very recently. Someone who wasn't Tomoe Mami. _It was you, wasn't it?_"

This was bad. She had to get out of here.

Without replying at all, Madoka ran towards the exit. Erika made no move to chase her whatsoever. If Madoka could just get to the classroom, this girl couldn't bother her anymore, not with Miss Saotome and Sayaka and Homu-

"What?"

The door to the roof was locked. Wait, did Erika-?

Madoka never had a chance to finish her own train of thought. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and then she was pushed onto the hard, cold roof floor.

…

This was way too easy, Erika thought to herself. Way too easy…and yet way too hard.

She knew how these interrogations were supposed to work. Madoka was supposed to deny, deny, deny everything at first. But with Erika's pressing and the presentation of evidence, she would be able to force Madoka to confess what she knew about Tomoe Mami's disappearance. It's not like Erika thought Kaname Madoka killed Tomoe Mami – that would make this mystery all too easy, really. But she definitely knew _something_ about the disappearance, and it was up to Erika to find out. One way or another.

But this girl wasn't doing it right at all. It was blatantly clear from her sobbing, her obvious lies, and her expressions that she did indeed know something. But she wasn't doing anything. She wasn't claiming that she barely knew Tomoe Mami, she wasn't denying that the notebook was hers, she wasn't giving up some excuse for how that notebook got there that Erika could strike down, she wasn't doing anything but standing there, weeping like a slug. This stupid girl wasn't trying to defend herself at all, but she still wouldn't confess to what she knew about Tomoe Mami. And rather than actually battling it out with logic, she tried to run away. _Run away?_ No one when accused of a crime did that! And there wasn't even a challenge there, because she hadn't even been smart enough to just unlock the door!

_Argh_, she thought as she dragged Madoka across the roof floor and flung her onto the fence, _why do human beings have to be so DIFFICULT?_

"I'm asking for the truth, Kaname." Erika began. "The total truth. And you need to tell me the truth. Where is Tomoe Mami? Where did you last see her? What do you know of her disappearance?"

"I-I don't know where she is…"

"Is that your truth? What will you say when I take this notebook to the principle, or the teacher, huh? The teacher is worried now that she hasn't called in for two straight days. The police will get involved if there's no word from her. Are you still going to say nothing? Tell me the truth, Kaname Madoka. Where is Tomoe Mami?! Where did you last see her?! What do you know of her disappearance?!"

Erika's patience had seriously begun to run out, as her last sentences were now as much of a scream as they were a question. But Madoka still said nothing. And going to the principle, or the police would not be a _real_ victory. Erika wanted the prize of solving this herself, without the police or the teachers or ANYONE getting in her way to take some of the credit. But this stupid girl continued to cry, completely given the impression of one who had been utterly beaten – _but she still wasn't surrendering!_

Erika raised her hand to strike the stupid girl and then-

"What?"

She didn't know what had happened. One moment, Furudo Erika was standing in front of Kaname Madoka, her arm outstretched to slap her. But then she all of a sudden could see nothing.

No, she realized, it wasn't that she could see nothing. It was that her face was planted into the roof floor. As Erika picked herself up, her hand moved up towards her cheek. It hurt. As if she had not just been slapped, but punched there.

For a moment, Erika wondered whether Madoka had sucker punched her in a way that she had lost consciousness. But as she staggered onto her knees, she saw that Madoka was still there, trembling by the wall where Erika had flung her. But now a black haired girl stood in front of Madoka. Her face seemed calm, but Erika could see her body trembling with rage.

"How dare you. How dare you attempt to hit Madoka?"

The girl asked a question, but Erika did not answer. Instead, she looked at the roof door. It hung open. But how? Erika had locked the door. Madoka herself had tested the lock. So…

"W-who are you?" Erika asked. "How did you get in here?"

"There's no need for you to worry about that." The girl said. "And what is a senior like you doing? Skipping class to assault one of your juniors? Should I tell the teacher about this?"

"Tell the teacher!" Erika laughed. "I'm looking for a classmate of mine, and this girl knows something about it. I even have proof! If she won't confess, then I'll just go to the principal and-"

"Is this your proof?"

The black-haired girl waved the notebook which Erika had discovered in Tomoe's apartment.

"W-wait, what? I was just holding that. How did you-"

Without even giving a response, the girl tore the notebook in half. As Erika watched in shock and horror, she then flung it over the school roof.

"You-you BITCH!"

Erika charged the girl and swung a fist. But the girl easily dodged, and before Erika could react, planted an elbow in Erika's back. Erika thudded onto the ground.

"Guh!"

"H-homura?" Madoka shouted.

"Quiet."

The girl, Homura, raised an arm to bar Madoka. Erika lay on the ground, though slight movements showed that she was still awake. After looking at Madoka, Homura then walked towards Erika, and then grabbed her by her long blue hair so that the two were face to face.

"Madoka is completely innocent of what you accuse her of." Homura quietly said to Erika. "And neither do you. You will tell the teacher that you did not see Tomoe Mami. And that will be that. Go on, and live an ordinary life. Do you understand?"

Erika said nothing. Her eyes didn't even look like they were focusing on Homura's face, but rather past her. Eventually, she gave a small grin.

"Heh, you think that I'm going to run from the truth- OWWWWWWW!"

Without hesitation, Homura yanked on Erika's hair, completely ignoring her shrieks of pain.

"Do you understand?"

"Y-you, do you think you can make me stop with OWOWOWOWOWOWWWWWWW!"

Tears fell from Erika's cheeks as Homura now pulled with all of her strength.

"OW, OW, OW, FINE!" Erika finally screamed. "Fine, fine, fine, now get off of me!"

With a final yank, Homura let go. Erika massaged her scalp as she struggled onto her knees, wincing in pain. Homura turned towards Madoka.

"We should get going. Miss Saotome was looking for you, Kaname."

"O-okay…"

Even though she had been yelled at, accused, and physically attacked by the blue haired girl, Madoka still looked at Erika with worry and pity at her state. But with a cold stare from Homura, the two headed towards the roof exit.

"Homura!"

However, they stopped as a shout came from Erika. Homura closed her eyes for a moment before she looked at the swaying girl.

"What is it?"

"How did you know that I was investigating Tomoe Mami's disappearance? I never said anything about her while you were here."

"I have no reason to answer that." Homura responded. "As I said, it is absolutely none of your business. You are getting in involved in matters which are utterly beyond you, and thus I will be honest in telling you to stay out. Did you forget your promise, or do I have to remind you again?"

Erika glared at Homura.

"I will tell the teacher that Tomoe was not there, but I won't talk about you two. For now. But let me ask you one more question then."

"What is it?"

"Homura, what do you do after school?"

Homura tilted her head.

"What does it matter to you?"

"Well, you see," Erika smiled, her teeth baring. "You are a schoolgirl. You should not be doing anything unusual. Except the problem, Homura…

Is why did I smell explosives when you lifted my face up to you?"

For the first time in their conversation, Homura's eyes widened for just a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She finally answered. "You must be mistaken. Madoka, come on."

Without waiting for Erika to respond, the two finally left the roof. The minute they left, Erika plopped herself down on the roof floor and lifted a hand to her face.

"That bitch." She muttered. "I'll get her for this. I'll get her, and Madoka, and I'll get the truth out of them one way or another. I don't care what it is. I will _find_ the truth and I will smash the mysteries that those two are hiding from me.

And not just this mystery. Everyone has secrets. Everyone has secrets they don't want to talk about. Including you, Homura. I will find out what secrets you have. Every. Last. One. And I will use them to destroy you, you hear me?"

She brushed herself off after those words and headed for the door. But she stopped once she took a look at it. This door was a mystery. Homura had somehow gotten on the roof even though Erika had locked the door, something which had been confirmed by Madoka. She examined the door, but what she saw confused the detective even more.

"It's been blown off?"

She had not been able to tell from a distance, but the door actually only hung onto the frame with a thin strip of wood. The knob and the hinges had been destroyed, and then Homura must have kicked it in. Erika got down on her hands and feet to look around for clues, though it only took her a moment to find something.

"Two shotgun shells?"

This did not make any sense. With the shotgun shells and the broken door, the obvious conclusion was that Homura blew off the door in order to reach Madoka. But this made no sense. There's no way Erika could have failed to miss that noise. Even if she didn't, Madoka should have – yet that sniveling girl had made no indication that she had heard such a loud noise. A silencer? No. This was a shotgun, not a pistol, and that still wouldn't have been able to cover the noise of the door being broken down. So how did Homura break open the door and move across the roof without Erika noticing her at all.

In addition, Homura had no shotgun when Erika saw her. She could have hidden it. But that was odd too, Erika thought. The only way to have hidden the shotgun in a way that Erika could not have seen would have been to leave it inside after she blew open the door. Yet that posed a risk of it being seen by someone who came up. If Homura had used a shotgun to blow open the door, then she should have taken it with her – what was Erika going to do to her even if she did see it?

She should have returned to class, but Erika's brain was too frazzled, both by her simmering rage against Homura as well as everything she had noticed. Erika sat down on the nearby stairs, and with her hands covering her head, began to think.

…

The last bell for the day chimed, and Madoka packed her bags.

"Hey Madoka! So what was that about earlier today?"

Sayaka stood in front of her, bag already prepared.

"Sayaka." Madoka said. "That was fast."

"W-well", Sayaka blushed. "I need to stop by the hospital as soon as I can. I want to see how Kyosuke's doing. Now that, h-his hand's better and all that. But never mind me Madoka, what happened to you? You saw how Miss Saotome made a fuss when you came back, but you looked so depressed."

"Well, you see…"

The two of them left the classroom and walked down the school hallway, at which point Madoka began to recount what had happened on the roof. Sayaka's eyes grew wider as Madoka continued, though her mouth turned into more and more of a frown. When Madoka finished, Sayaka slammed her hand onto the nearby wall.

"Furudo Erika, you said her name was?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Well, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" Sayaka declared. "Why didn't you tell me the minute you got back, Madoka? No one threatens my best friend and gets away with it!"

Sayaka wheeled right around and for a moment, it seemed that she was going to march up the stairs to the senior classrooms.

"No, no, Sayaka!" Madoka cried. "She already suspects me. She already suspects Homura. I don't want her going after you too!"

"After me too?" Sayaka laughed. "I'm a magical girl, Madoka. And not just any magical girl. I'm going to follow in Mami's footsteps, protect this city from the witches. You think I should be scared of another girl?"

"Well, what if she's another magical girl?" Madoka asked.

"Huh?" Sayaka said. "Didn't Kyubey already say that there were only two magical girls in Mitikihara? Mami and Homura?"

"That's right. I did."

The voice came from a nearby window. As both Madoka and Sayaka turned to look, Kyubey, the white creature who had turned Sayaka into a magical girl, sat by the window. Students bustled here and there, but not a single one noticed or paid the slightest attention to Kyubey. Of course, this was because Sayaka and Madoka were the only two who could see him.

"Kyubey." Madoka breathed. "Did you see what happened on the roof?"

"I did." Kyubey stated. "I could not do anything to help you, Madoka. That is, unless you want to contract to make Furudo Erika forget-"

"No!" Sayaka broke in. "Madoka should fight for something which she believes in. I found it. I found what I wanted to fight for, for Kyosuke. But Madoka, you can't use your wish for something like that, you hear me?"

"I-I-understand."

"Very well." Kyubey said. "But since you will ask, I will state it. That girl, Furudo Erika, is not a magical girl. And she does not possess the potential to be one."

"Is that so?" Sayaka said. "Well, then there's nothing to worry about, Madoka. I'm going to go up there and give that stupid senior a piece of my mind and make her leave you alone, you hear me?"

She moved once again towards the stairs, but Madoka grabbed her arm.

"But what about Kyosuke?" She cried. "You said that you needed to see him, to make sure he was better. Don't you need to hurry?"

Sayaka looked at Madoka for a long moment. But then she sighed and turned back towards the entrance.

"You're right. That girl can wait. I need to see Kyosuke with my own eyes, make sure he's happy and alright. I can deal with her later. It's not like she can do anything to threaten you.

But Madoka, if she ever threatens you in the slightest way, just let me know, okay? I'll beat her down and make her apologize to you. After all, I can't forgive bad people who hurt my friends!"

Sayaka gave a confident grin, and then with a wave of farewell, dashed out of the school. Madoka smiled.

"I need to go back to the classroom, Kyubey. I want to talk to Homura."

"Okay then. See you later!"

Kyubey gave a smile as he saw Madoka dash off, but then as she left, he began to think. He had told them the truth about that girl, Furudo Erika. She had no potential to become a magical girl. But Sayaka and Madoka didn't need to hear the important thing about her.

To say that Kyubey was totally without emotions would not be completely correct. True, he didn't understand why magical girls always panicked whenever they discovered the truth about their Soul Gems. He didn't understand why humans were so unwilling to sacrifice a few girls not just for the good of their species, but for the good of the entire universe. He didn't feel fear when he had been chased by Akemi Homura, nor did he feel joy when he made a successful contract.

But he did, at a fundamental level, had things he liked and things he disliked. He had no reason to soak in a tub of warm water every morning at Madoka's home, but he did it anyway. He had no reason to eat part of her lunch, but he did it anyways. He liked those things, and while he did not feel fear when he was being chased by Homura, he certainly didn't like it, nor did he like how that girl seemed to be doing everything in her power to prevent him from making a contract with Madoka. And he also did not like that new girl.

But why didn't he like this girl, Furudo Erika? Because something about her made Kyubey uneasy. So uneasy that rather than pressure Madoka into contracting again, he had ran down to seek help – and he had even asked the stronger Homura as opposed to Sayaka, even though the latter was so much easier to manipulate. But why did she make him uneasy? Kyubey didn't know, and that was problematic.

Still, even if he did not like Furudo Erika for whatever reason, there was no need to do anything about her. If anything, he should do nothing to stop her.

After all, he thought, if I can get this Erika to pressure Madoka enough, it could be another way to get her to make a contract with me.


	3. Chapter 3

"What did you want to talk about?"

Madoka shrunk before Homura's gaze. She had managed to find Homura after Sayaka had left and asked her to come along to a nearby fast-food place. It was important, Madoka knew. She needed Homura's help. But in front of that piercing stare, Madoka just shrunk into her booth, almost slumping next to the high partition on her right.

"So…" Madoka finally spoke. "Thank you, Homura. For earlier. I was scared of that senior, but you came and rescued me."

"Don't thank me. I stopped her interrogation to prevent her from making a scene with the rest of the school, nothing more. You should do everything you can to stay away from someone that dangerous."

"B-but I talked with Kyubey." Madoka said. "He told me that she didn't have any potential to be a magical girl. So-"

"Just how foolish can you get?"

"Eh?"

"You were going to tell me that since Furudo Erika has no potential to be a magical girl, that there's no need to worry about her, correct? Even though she already knows about Tomoe Mami?"

"W-well…" Madoka stammered. "But of course someone would investigate Mami's disappearance, right? Eventually?"

Homura did not say anything for a moment. But then she tossed her head back and ran a hand through her long black hair.

"It's none of your concern." She finally said.

"W-what?"

"Anyways, did you come here to just thank me for that? If so, I'll just leave now."

"N-no!" Madoka cried. "I mean, yes, thank you for helping me today, but I really wanted to talk about Sayaka."

"Miki Sayaka?"

"Yes." Madoka said. "I know she's very persistent, and can be kind of stubborn. She also has a quick temper…but she's a really nice person! She's kind and courageous, and she'll go to any length to help someone."

"All fatal flaws for a magical girl."

"Is…is that true?"

Homura closed her eyes, as if thinking.

"Excessive kindness leads to weakness. Reckless courage leads to carelessness. There's also no reward for dedication of any kind. You can't be a magical girl until you understand that. That is why Tomoe Mami lost her life."

Her expression completely calm with those cold words, Homura popped the lid off of the coffee she ordered.

"Don't say that!" Madoka shouted.

Homura raised an eyebrow, and Madoka shrunk back into her chair and towards the partition.

"Sayaka says she'll be fine." Madoka continued, her voice softer. "But when I think that she'll end up like Mami, I just don't know what to do."

"You're worried about Miki Sayaka, are you?"

"I can't do anything for her anymore, so I want to ask you. Could you be friends with Sayaka? Don't fight her like you did with Mami. It should be much safer if you all fight the witches together, right?"

Madoka's statement had devolved into a plea, but Homura took no notice. She lifted the coffee cup up to her lips before setting it down again.

"I don't want to lie, and I don't want to make any promises I can't keep. So I want you to give up on Miki Sayaka."

"Why?"

"She should not have formed the contract. This is partially my fault too. I should have kept a closer eye on her, as well as you."

"So-"

"But now that I've taken responsibility, I must tell you that it's a mistake that cannot be undone. It'd be like trying to bring someone back from the dead. Once you become a magical girl, there's no hope for salvation. That contract takes everything away in exchange for a single hope."

"Does that mean you've given up too?" Madoka said. "Given up on yourself and all of the other girls?"

"That's right." Homura answered.

She finally opened her eyes and looked directly at Madoka.

"I won't make excuses and say I'll try to atone. I must continue with my struggle, with whatever sin I have to bear."

Madoka looked down at the ground, but said nothing. Homura slid out of the booth.

"It seems I've wasted your time. I apologize."

With those words, Homura left the restaurant. Madoka sat there for a little longer. She picked at the fries a bit and put one in her mouth. But then, without finishing the food she had ordered, she headed out of the restaurant.

And it was only then, when Madoka was out of earshot, that a girl on the other side of the partition slammed her fist on the table.

"What…the…hell…was…that?!"

The other patrons whispered and looked amongst one another, but Furudo Erika paid them no mind. She ground her teeth as if they would crumble into dust. She then looked at a still-running tape recorder which lay on the table, and with a snarl switched it off.

Tailing Kaname Madoka had been the obvious move after everything that had transpired. After Erika had followed Homura and her to this fast-food place, she took the seat behind the partition just so she could hear every bit of their conversation. With it, she should have gotten much closer to solving the mystery of Tomoe Mami's disappearance.

But now, the only thing she really knew for certain was that Tomoe Mami was indeed dead. The rest? Gibberish. Utter, total gibberish. Magical girls? Contracts? Someone called Kyubey? What mystery involved this lunacy?

_Hold on a moment,_ Erika thought. _Actually, this is quite common._

There were many mysteries where the culprit pretended to be some magician or holder of dark powers. But the detective showed them to be all tricks. Clever tricks, but tricks nonetheless. Being a magical girl did not mean that Homura and the aforementioned "Miki Sayaka" actually transformed and fought "witches" like Madoka had said. It was likely a code word for some organization. That's all it was, and she had to expose that truth.

Yes, that was her goal. While Homura and Madoka definitely knew that Mami was dead, Erika did get the sense from that conversation that those two did not actually commit the deed. It meant someone else must have been responsible.

Without another word or thought, Erika straightened up, lightly slapped herself in the cheeks a few times, and set off. She would tail Madoka later. But right now, she needed to find out what she could about "Miki Sayaka."

…

…

"You're not a burden. I'd love for you to come. Having someone by my side would make me feel a lot better."

Miki Sayaka took Madoka's hands into hers. She was so relieved. She loved Madoka, not just as a friend, but almost as a sister. She had worried, just a bit, that Madoka would be too scared to accompany her after what had happened to Mami. But no, Madoka had asked anyways.

"I swear I'll protect you, Madoka."

And with those two words, the two of them set off to find witches or familiars. Creatures born out the negative emotions of mankind, who then fed on the despair of humanity. It was Sayaka's duty, as a magical girl, to fight them and save the city and the people which she loved.

Still, as the two walked on and on, Miki could see Madoka begin to falter a little bit. She never complained; Sayaka really had never seen Madoka whine or moan or grumble. Even when Madoka had been bullied as a child, shortly after the two had met, it was Sayaka who had fought the bullies off. Madoka thanked Sayaka, but she never spoke an ill word even of those other children who had been mean to her.

"Would you like to stop and rest for a bit? There's a vending machine nearby."

Madoka nodded in thanks. The two stopped alongside an empty road. Sayaka brought two drinks and handed one to Madoka.

"Hmm, that's refreshing!" Sayaka said after a long gulp. "I'll bet you're tired, aren't you Madoka?"

"Just a little."

"It is funny." Sayaka smiled. "I was definitely tired whenever I followed Mami around. But I feel just fine now. Maybe my contract gave me newfound energy out of a desire to protect everyone. Is that so, Kyubey?"

Sayaka looked over at Kyubey, but then frowned. Kyubey had been perched on her shoulder the whole time, but while he had talked when Madoka and she had first set out, he hadn't said anything in a while.

"Hey, Kyubey." Sayaka said. "Is something wrong? Here, I'll give you some of my drink if that's what you want."

Sayaka pushed the can up into Kyubey's face, but he didn't respond. He tilted his head to the side for a moment, and then looked at Madoka.

"Kaname Madoka." He finally asked. "Can I ask you one question?"

"Um, okay."

"Where did you go before you met Sayaka today?"

"Ah?" Sayaka said. "Kyubey, what sort of question is that?"

"It's nothing important, Sayaka." Madoka responded. "Well, I was at home. I wanted to finish my homework before I met Sayaka."

"And where were you before you came home? At school?"

"Well, no, I went to talk to Homura. But why? Is something wrong?"

Kyubey looked from side to side for a moment. It was almost like this thing was nervous, Sayaka thought.

"You're being followed." Kyubey finally said.

"Eh?" Madoka gaped.

"EHHHHH?!" Sayaka yelled. "By who? Is it Homura?"

"No." Kyubey shook his head. "Not Homura. It's that Erika you were talking about earlier. I believe she has been following us for a while now, but I only just noticed."

"Are you sure?" Sayaka finally said.

"She is currently hiding behind a wall that's about 50 meters away, but she's following us. Would you like to see for yourself?"

"Well, that does it. That girl is something bad, Madoka. I know you tried to stop me from confronting her before, but not this time. I'm going to go there and make her leave you alone!"

"H-hold on a second, Sayaka!" Madoka said. "You, you're not going to use your Soul Gem-"

"On her?" Sayaka said. "Oh, please no, Madoka. That Erika may have attacked you earlier, but she's just a big bully. She can't do anything to me. Like I said, I'll go ahead and make her leave you alone!"

Sayaka made to march back the way they had come, but Madoka grabbed Sayaka's wrist.

"Promise me not to transform?"

"Eh?"

"Promise me not to transform?"

Madoka looked up at Sayaka, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Uh, okay, okay fine!" Sayaka declared. "I never intended to transform. I don't need my Soul Gem to beat some stupid senior, okay, Madoka? Now let me go over there and-"

"Too late." Kyubey suddenly said.

Sayaka and Madoka looked at Kyubey, but then down the road. No longer attempting to hide herself in the slightest, Furudo Erika strutted down towards Sayaka and Madoka. Sayaka took a step forward, one arm shielding Madoka from Erika.

"Hello, Kaname Madoka. Miki Sayaka." Furudo Erika simpered, an arrogant smirk plastered on her face. "Now just what are the two of you doing here this fine evening?"

"That's none of your business." Sayaka snapped. "Were you following us?"

"Why ask a question that you already know the answer to?" Erika smiled. "Honestly, if the two of you had caught on to the fact that I was tailing you, you should have just led me to some worthless location and wasted my time. I never would have known. But no, even from a distance, I could tell that you and Madoka were arguing over something, and then you started to march back the way you came. Only a moron could not figure out with those clues that you knew I was following you. Now just how did you find out? I like to think that I'm quite good at tracking people without being seen."

"That's none of your business, you bitch." Sayaka snarled. "This suits me just fine. I know what you did to Madoka earlier. You leave her alone, you hear me? You leave her alone, or-"

"Or what?" Erika asked. "So this is about what you're hiding? You, and Madoka, and Homura, all know something about Mami's death, right? Are you going to stop me as well? The truth will come out, Sayaka, and I will get it no matter what."

"Why you!"

"Not that it matters, I'll admit. No one really knew anything about Tomoe Mami. She never paid attention to any of us, so none of us paid any attention to her. There'll be some grieving when she's officially declared gone, but how much of that is the rote mourning that humans are taught to do when someone die-"

SMACK.

Without further hesitation, Sayaka swung a fist at Erika's face. But Erika caught the punch in her hand.

"Interesting." Erika stated. "Even though I blocked your attack, you still forced me back a few feet. That was unusually strong for a middle-school girl, especially since your build doesn't indicate that you work out a lot. Do you take boxing lessons, Sayaka?"

"SHUT UP! Don't mock Tomoe Mami either, you hear me?!"

Sayaka's other fist attempted an uppercut, but this time Erika just grabbed her wrist. The two clearly struggled with one another, but Erika still continued to grin.

"Mock her? I'm the one trying to find out how she died. You're the one trying to hide it – you, and Homura, and Madoka. You're going to respect Tomoe Mami's memory by letting the circumstances of her death be lost to time? A child could see the contradiction in that idea."

Sayaka growled in response, but said nothing more.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Erika asked. "I think it's obvious that you can't beat me up. And nothing you say is going to persuade me to leave Kaname Madoka alone. What's your plan now, Miki Sayaka? What about you, Kaname Madoka?"

"Well…I…" Madoka shrunk back.

"How about this, then?" Erika said. "If the two of you can't beat me right now, and if you want to keep me from the truth that badly…"

Erika's grin now began to show teeth as it grew even wider.

"Why don't you do that magical girl thing?"

Sayaka ripped herself away from Erika at those words. She took several steps back, standing in front of Madoka.

"What did you say?" Sayaka said.

"Are your ears made of lead or something?" Erika responded. "That magical girl thing. Transform into one, if that's what it is. Summon a lightning bolt to strike me down, if that's what it is. Or perhaps more likely, use some trick. Or is it a pseudonym for something, an organization perhaps? So once again, why don't you go ahead and use your "magical girl" powers on me?"

…

…

On top of a nearby building, Akemi Homura looked down at the three of them. While she couldn't hear their conversation, it was clear at this point from the shocked reactions of Madoka and Sayaka what had transpired. That girl, Furudo Erika, an outsider, knew something about their true identities.

There was no real policy against people knowing about magical girls, to tell the truth. The Incubators did their very best to hide it. With their incredibly advanced technology, controlling the human media, even the Internet, was child's play for them. If some magical girl got the idea to blatantly reveal everything to the world, things would inevitably go wrong. A journalist willing to grant an interview would fall ill, a website would be attacked by hackers, things like that. The Incubators liked to compare harvesting the energy of magical girls to the production of meat, after all – and what good did it do to let a pig know where his final destination would be? But if a loved one or just one person learned the truth about their daughter, or sister, or friend? The Incubators didn't care about that. In fact, if Sakura Kyouko was a good example, having a magical girl's loved ones discover the truth could work out pretty well for them.

Yet this girl's investigation of Tomoe Mami was a giant nuisance. Tomoe Mami normally did not die this early. It generally depended on whether Miki Sayaka contracted or not. If she did, which was in most timelines, Sayaka would become a witch, Mami would go mad upon learning the truth, and Homura would kill her; but that would be later. If Sayaka did not, then Mami would normally get to the end and perish against Walpurgis Night. And other times, she died early, like this timeline. But in the timelines where she did die early, her death/disappearance attracted no attention until right before Walpurgis Night showed up, at which point it really didn't matter anymore.

But now, with this girl investigating, the school and the police were paying much greater attention to Tomoe Mami's disappearance. It wouldn't be that big of a factor, but if they discovered the connection between Mami and Madoka, like the detective had, it would be…troublesome. There was also the fact that Homura knew absolutely nothing about this girl. She had at this point gone through timeline after timeline – she guessed that it was around three dozen, but maybe it was two or four or perhaps even five. Yet this was the first time that this girl had ever gotten involved. The more factors showed up, the harder it would be for Homura to balance all her priorities. Namely, keeping Madoka from contracting while also keeping other magical girls alive for the fight against Walpurgis Night.

Outside factors needs to be removed.

Homura changed into her magical girl uniform, and then drew a rifle from her shield. It was a sniper rifle, a M40. She had largely taken it on a whim on one of her many barracks raids – sniper rifles were not the sort of weapons with which to fight witches, but it had cost her nothing to grab it. Now, it could prove useful after all.

Homura stabilized the gun on the roof. Taking situation of the arguing going on in the streets, she centered the scope on Furudo Erika. One shot, one clean shot and a threat to Madoka would be removed.

_Are you sure about this?_

Homura's finger rested on the trigger. All she had to do was squeeze. Squeeze, and one threat would be taken care of.

But was she really a threat? After all, if Erika was a threat, what about Miki Sayaka? She had already become a magical girl. Perhaps Homura could have hoped that Sayaka would prove to be an ally against Walpurgis Night, but previous experiences in other timelines told Homura otherwise. Once Sayaka contracted, her personality and infatuation with that idiot boy always turned her into a witch before Walpurgis came. If she was planning to kill Furudo, why not Sayaka as well? But then where would she stop? How many threats, how many outside factors should Homura remove?

A sudden gust of wind blew across the roof, and Homura let her eye off the scope for a moment. But when she rested herself again, her eyes widened.

The wind had adjusted her rifle…so that the scope was now centered on Madoka.

With a shake of her head, Homura stood up and put the rifle away. It's not like she wouldn't get rid of Erika. It was just too dangerous to take the shot with Madoka close by. Yes, that was all it was.

Still, she should get there as soon as she could before things got worse. One moment, Homura stood on the rooftop. Then the sound of whirring gears could be heard, and she was gone.

…

…

Furudo Erika was not an idiot.

Sure, there was no way that Miki Sayaka could actually transform into a magical girl, since magic did not exist. But it was obvious from Madoka's conversation that a "magical girl", whatever it really stood for, was to be part of something incredibly powerful, and no doubt incredibly secret. If they could kill Tomoe Mami, there really was no reason that they could not eventually dispose of her as well.

Viewed from that perspective, to challenge Sayaka head-on with the fact that she knew a portion of the truth may be a foolish and dangerous idea. But Erika had done her research on Sayaka after she had left the restaurant, and thus had a fairly good idea of Sayaka Miki's personality. Madoka's friend definitely viewed herself as a good person, who always strove to do the right thing.

"_She's kind and courageous and will go to any length to help someone."_

Those were Madoka's words about Sayaka. Given Erika's deductions about Sayaka's personality, this was the best time to try this. Sayaka was the kind of person who could be easily tripped up if you pressured her or made her angry…but she also wasn't the kind of person who would get so angry that she would try to kill an innocent person like Erika. There wasn't a better person to directly harass and antagonize until she let something slip. Of course, Erika knew better than anyone that you could never tell what people were really like on the inside, but it was a worthy gamble – especially with Madoka watching.

"So," Erika declared. "Just what is a magical girl, anyways? Are you one? Is Madoka one? Mami was one, wasn't she? And so is that Homura girl?"

_That was probably how, _Erika thought to herself. _How Homura broke down the roof door. It must be related to being a "magical girl."_

Sayaka had completely shut up ever since Erika had talked about magical girls. As Erika drew closer to Sayaka, Sayaka and Madoka retreated back. But as they did so, Sayaka's eyes were still staring at a nearby garbage can for some reason.

…

Kyubey sat on top of a nearby garbage can. From his perspective, this situation was…problematic.

True, he had initially found nothing wrong with letting this girl, Furudo Erika, wander around as she liked. It was highly unlikely that she would find anything, and perhaps her investigations would pressure Madoka some more. The best case scenario would be that Madoka would make the contract just to get rid of Erika. And what Erika had done just now certainly made the scenario much more possible.

But this girl had gone farther than he had anticipated at all, much less in the span of merely a few hours. How far could she get at discovering the nature of magical girls, much less the secrets about them that he had never bothered to tell Sayaka and Madoka? And if that wasn't problematic enough, Kyubey still hadn't figured out just the reason for this…uneasy sentiment that he had with that girl.

_Kyubey._

Kyubey looked over at Sayaka. The girl was looking over in his direction, her face clearly pale and frightened. Fortunately, she could easily communicate with him through magic, so Erika couldn't hear even though she was right next to them.

_What should I do?_

Oh. Right. That's what he should focus on. But still, the solution was obvious.

_Deny everything. She doesn't have proof of anything. It's obvious that while she knows about "magical girls" somehow, she knows nothing about you or what being a "magical girl" is. She thinks it's a code name for something. So just say that you don't know what she's talking about._

_Got it._

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kyubey heard Sayaka say. "I'm not a magical girl, if that's what you're thinking."

"Ohhhh." Erika responded. "Is that so? You were so pale just a moment ago."

"W-well, that's because you just asked me such a lunatic question. I mean, I know you're a bad person since you threatened Madoka, but are you stupid as well? I don't know anything."

"The same tactics as Madoka tried then? Well, I'll do something about that." Erika responded. "Let me show you something interesting if you really don't know anything…"

Erika reached into a pocket of her dress. Kyubey's brain racked itself even harder. Did she have proof of Sayaka being a magical girl? It seemed impossible. Sayaka had only transformed for the first time yesterday. Tomoe Mami had been dead for less than 24 hours – if Erika had gotten into this because of her disappearance, there's no way she could have gotten evidence of that. Unless it was a bluff? But if it wasn't, what could it be? Perhaps-

THUNK.

Kyubey never had a chance to finish his train of thought. Instead, he realized, he was flying through the air. He had been…struck?

His flight landed as he crashed into some nearby boxes.

"Kyubey - ah!"

He heard Sayaka cry, only for her to realize what she had blurted out far too late. A roll of duct tape rolled back towards Erika, who picked up it and twirled it around her finger.

"Kyubey, you said? So was Kyubey why you were so intently staring at absolutely nothing, Miki Sayaka? And was Kyubey what this duct tape roll collided with when I threw it, even though it should have hit nothing at all? You feel like talking yet?"

Kyubey moved out of the boxes. This was bad. He was invisible to Furudo Erika, yet he had still managed to completely take her by surprise. Had he realized what she was going to do, he could have made himself transparent and let the duct tape roll pass through him. But now… now that there was concrete evidence. Concrete evidence that Sayaka and Madoka could not deny.

"Ah…geez." Erika sighed. "Still, this whole thing just hasn't gone the way it's supposed to. A good mystery isn't supposed to have some stupid thing like an invisibility device. It's completely against the rules. Well, maybe not completely so since my great intellect meant that I figured out that there was an invisibility device, but can't something work like a proper mystery, for once?"

He had worried about how far this girl had gotten when she had learned about "magical girls". But now? She had an idea about Kyubey, even though she shouldn't be able to see him. Even now, she was looking at the smashed boxes where he lay. If she got more time…

_Sayaka!_

_Yes?_

_She's too dangerous. This girl is a threat. She needs to be eliminated._

_W-WHAT?!_

Sayaka's clearly stunned reaction couldn't help but puzzle Kyubey.

_She knows too much. If she discovers the secret of magical girls-_

_What secret? If she learns about me? What's the worst she could do?_

_I don't get it. _Kyubey said. _Don't you dislike this girl?_

_Yes, of course I think she's a bitch. But that doesn't mean I'm going to kill her! _

_Even if she continues to threaten Madoka? What will you do then?_

_I'll come to that road when I come to it. But I won't kill her. I'm fighting to save Mitikihara's people, Kyubey, not kill them._

_But if she exposes everything, you won't be able to protect Mitikihara. What's the life of one girl against that fact?_

_What? What are you talking-_

"My, my, you're still silent." Erika cut in. "So, what's going on? You wouldn't happen to be talking to this Kyubey at this very moment, would you? Perhaps with a wireless in your ear?"

"What?"

"Well, if this Kyubey is indeed invisible, who knows what else he can do?"

_See, the longer we wait, the more she deduces! _Kyubey declared to Sayaka. _Use your magical girl powers to eliminate her! She's too dangerous!_

_To whom?_

_To all of us? To you, and me, and the universe and-_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on, Kyubey! What do you mean "the universe?" What does my being a magical girl have to do with the universe?_

Oh, bollocks.

Kyubey instantly cut communication off with Sayaka and fled down the road. Sayaka wasn't going to do what was necessary. The longer he argued with her, the more Erika would figure out, and if Sayaka was any indication, who was to say that she wouldn't find out things that should stay secret?

True, he could just deal with Erika himself later. It would not be particularly difficult to infect someone who was still an ordinary schoolgirl with some terminal cancer. But there was a better option, one which could eliminate Furudo Erika without any delay. It took Kyubey only a minute for him to get in contact with her.

_Sakura Kyouko!_

Nearby, a red-haired girl sat on top of a tower, munching on a pastry. She closed her eyes upon being contacted by Kyubey.

_Ah?_

_You told me earlier that you intended to eliminate Miki Sayaka in order to rule Mitikihara for yourself, right?_

_What about it?_

_I can tell you where she is now, and you can go take of her._

_Really. What's in it for you?_

That was how Kyouko just was, Kyubey mused. She was tough and rational, always interested in her personal self-gain. This was a person he could understand.

_There are two girls alongside her. One with pink hair, and the other with blue. Take care of the blue-haired girl, but do NOT kill the pink-haired girl. I will give you Miki Sayaka's location if you do that._

_Fine. I promise. Where is she?_

…

…

Sakura Kyouko grinned as she jumped off the tower, transforming into a magical girl as she landed. This was a perfect opportunity. She had arrived in Mitikihara last night when she had heard of Tomoe Mami's death to take over the territory, only to be told by Kyubey that there already were two magical girls around – a newbie and a weirdo. Given that the strange magical girl was apparently strong, Kyouko had checked out the new magical girl, Miki Sayaka, first. If her chat with Kyubey was correct, this girl was just another of Tomoe Mami's lackeys – a weak-hearted altruist who wants to put up a good show of protecting people in the name of Justice or some other malarkey. The exact sort of person who would hamper herself to protect a pair of innocent civilians if Kyouko attacked right now. It's not like Kyouko needed an advantage to beat someone that weak, but every little trick could always help and ensure that she used less magic.

But that didn't mean that she would just be Kyubey's lapdog. If she clashed with Sayaka Miki, then there's no doubt those two innocent civilians would learn everything. And on top of that, why would Kyubey tell her to spare only one of them, and kill the other? Knowing Kyubey's desire to make contracts, the reason was obvious. That pink-haired girl probably had the potential to be a magical girl. Another magical girl would be another competitor and rival for the rich lands of Mitikihara.

So why not kill the snake in its egg before it hatches?


End file.
